Design number: 52 Year: 1985
The second Jade was a very significant boat for Rob Humphreys. Larry and Debby Wooddell were committed to a really serious effort in 1985 and with a crew headed by David Howlett, the Adrian Thompson-built boat showed huge potential from earliest days.
Humphreys had designed Jade as an offshore boat, where sheets-cracked speed can be more important than ultimate upwind performance. Compared with the other new One Tonners, of which there were many in 1985, Jade time and again demonstrated this capability.
The 1985 season was predominantly a windy one and in these conditions Jade was very hard to beat. The long race of the One Ton Cup, for example, was too windy for the Committee Boat to anchor and the race, won by Jade as was the series itself, was almost a rolling start.
Jade won the Channel Race in the Admirals’ Cup and was well placed to repeat this win in the Fastnet when a T-terminal failure caused the mast to come down, this when the wind had moderated after a boysterous night at sea.
Six months after the Admirals’ Cup Jade went on to place first in class and second overall in the SORC.
